Yusuf Islam, a British folk singer who converted to Islam in 1977, visited Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Friday Today`s Zaman reproted.
Erdogan and Islam performed Friday prayers together in the Prime Ministry building before their meeting. Prior to his visit to the prime minister, Islam visited the Parliament building in Ankara and met with Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek and Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag. Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, is in Turkey to take part in a mosque project.
In 1977, at the peak of his career, Stevens converted to Islam, adopting his Muslim name, Yusuf Islam, the following year. His name was not the only thing that changed: He also began sporting a beard and wearing a robe and sandals and cut his curly brown hair. He later auctioned off all of his guitars and left his music career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. More recently he began performing again.